1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to golf clubs. In particular, the present invention relates to a golf club that is used to impel a golf ball without swinging the club.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The game of golf has evolved utilizing clubs which are swung into contact with the golf ball to provide the necessary energy to impel the ball down the fairway or course. Various types of clubs are used to provide different trajectories to the ball, and for use at different distances from the green.
Many people who would otherwise enjoy the sport of golf are not capable of physically swinging a club hard enough or accurately enough to participate in the sport. In particular, many individuals who are capable of using a putter are not capable of driving the golf ball a significant distance from the tee toward the green, whether due to disability or lack of strength or dexterity.
In the past, others have tried unsuccessfully to solve this problem by inventing clubs which generate impelling force against the golf ball independent of the energy imparted by the swing of the club. These attempts have failed, however, because unlike the present invention, the club must still be swung into contact with the ball.
For example, Clark U.S. Pat. No. 769,939, discloses a golf club which used a spring in a club head to add additional energy to the swing of the club. The energy stored in the compressed spring was released by impact with the ball. The sole purpose of the invention was to add a few yards of distance when the club was used to hit the ball. The practical success of this concept is limited since the peak energy release of the spring and contact with the ball would have to occur simultaneously or precisely in phase to achieve optimum results. Additionally, this design made the club heavier thereby increasing the difficulty of striking the ball accurately on the club's "sweet spot", which is more important than additional force in obtaining more distance.
Another example is Celestin, French Patent 1,181,539, which discloses a golf club which uses an explosive charge in a club head to add additional energy to the swing of the club. The club disclosed in Celestin is swung against the ball. The impact causes a piston having an attached firing pin to contact an explosive charge in the head of the club. The charge causes the piston to move outwardly toward the ball impelling the ball away from the club. Again, the practical success of this concept is limited since the peak energy release of the explosive charge and contact with the ball must occur simultaneously or precisely in phase to achieve optimum results. Additionally, the "sweet spot" on the Celestin club is difficult to strike because the striking surface of the club is small and convex. Therefore the accuracy of the club is likely to be very poor.
The present invention overcomes these deficiencies and provides a way for golfers with physical handicaps or golfers with limited playing ability to perform abreast with avid players. The ballistic impeller golf club of the present invention does not need to be swung into contact with the golf ball. The club head is simply placed behind the ball, observing the proper axis toward the flag, the safety is released, and the trigger button is pressed. Thus detonating an explosive charge which propels the ball any desired distance from 2 yards to 250 yards depending upon the player's selection powder load in the explosive charge.
Additional, ballistic impeller golf clubs can be made for a variety of golf purposes, for instance, clubs made for left handed players, and clubs designed to impel the ball into a slice or hook trajectory.